MGS4: Kojima loses his marbles?

[Wrestlevania]

Anyone else thinking this is looking more and more ridiculous just plain stupid?

I'm left with nothing but thoughts of Hideo Kojima presents Final Fantasy at this point.

[Thrik]

Not me.

I especially love the fact that they're all named after the original FOXHOUND members.

[Nappi]

I was really impressed by the gameplay demo that was released a while ago. This, however, is just awful.

[Wrestlevania]

Was that the one where Snake was crawling around the floor during a street battle, with his sneak suit changing cammo to match whatever surface he was crawling over?

If so: yes, that looked good.

[Nappi]

Yes. The one with statue grabbing and magazine reading.

[DanJW]

I'm guessing that those guys will be the bosses, like the Cobra unit in MGS3. It's a litle more sci-fi than I would have liked I guess, but then this is a world where giant nuclear robots have existed since the cold war. The game still looks amazing.

[Thrik]

Yeah, definitely bosses from what I read earlier.

I still really like them. As you say, it's not like Metal Gear Solid is the most grounded-in-reality game in the world, and MGS1 and MGS2 were significantly more full of this stuff than MGS3 (both being set closer to MGS4). The big boss () in MGS2 had a tentacle suit thing quite similarly to the one in that video.

MGS bosses are in general pretty crazy, and for the most part have supernatural elements to them; in fact, these ones are weirdly amongst the more realistic of them as they seem to be entirely machine-based. However, they always somehow fit into the world and don't compromise the overall atmosphere that's been present in all three predecessors.

The bit I liked most was when Snake looked up at the one based on a mantis in the sky, which most MGS1 fans will immediately recognise as a reference to the legendary Psycho Mantis of MGS1 (who manipulated the environment and took people over supernaturally, rather than presumably through technology like the one in the video):

I can't find any good screenshots, but he always used the same crazy 'arms out like a nutter' stance.

I guess this might of off-putting to those who didn't play the past games, but I can't see too many fans of the whole series being bothered much by the video. I'm certainly not, anyway!

[n0wak]

I guess this might of off-putting to those who didn't play the past games, but I can't see too many fans of the whole series being bothered much by the video. I'm certainly not, anyway!

I'm more bothered by that masturbatory Raiden vs Vamp ridiculathon in the previous trailer. But yes, it IS getting stupid.

I mean, it's always been over-the-top. Especially number two. But in 2's defense, that game was meant to be taken as you controlling a character in a video game simulation of a fictional world instead of, as in 1 and 3, a character in a video game world. That was its excuse. What's the excuse here?

[Thrik]

I really don't think it is that bad at all.

All they are is soldiers with roboty bits built onto them, designed to be animalistic; Kojima said that the reason the robots in the game in general make animal noises and are designed as such is, in the game world, to psychologically fuck with the guys they're going after -- it's not a purely superfluous addition, looking like Final Fantasy villains for the sake of looking like Final Fantasy villains.

The video in itself does seem crazy, but I think just like always it'll work well in the context of the whole game. Swords and all that shit aren't new to MGS4, and indeed vamp was just as much a ridiculously agile and immortal bastard in MGS2. I replayed that recently and the way he moves around is insane. Running on water, man!

I just see the videos see more of the same, albeit increasingly mental to reflect the fact that the world is a wartorn bag of insanity and with more futuristic technology.

[Nappi]

Yes, I have only played some bits of past Metal Gear games and watched others play some more. However, I really liked the character design on the bosses I have seen (the invisible ninja on killing spree, for example). And Psycho Mantis is one sexy beast. (Probably because I didn't have to fight them.)

I have to admit that because I haven't played the previous games so much I don't know whether they included something that tops the flying half Spiderman nemesis half ancient Medusa thingy that screams "Rage! Rage!" all the time.

[DanJW]

I like the fact that they've taken robotics in a biomechanical direction. I think that's the way robotics will turn out in real life when they become sophisticated enough to be useful. I kind of like the anachronism of them fighting in a very current-looking Middle East setting.

Also, there's an element of wuxia throughout the MGS series, hence the aforementioned crazy ninja powers of the bosses that none of the characters especially remark upon.

"Holy shit! He's made of bees!"

Also

[Thyroid]

Interestingly, all the bosses in the MGS series serve a huge, symbolic purpose. In MGS3, the fact that the Cobras are named after emotions but with so little history, and the order in which they are presented, symbolizes Snake overcoming his emotions as he proceeds towards his goal: Eliminating the Boss. By succeeding, he has become the "ultimate" soldier.

Think about it.

Pain is first overcome, the the fear of it. His numbness (end) to orders is overcome then, and after that his fury at betrayal. The Sorrow, based on a Japanese myth about death (whole other article), is the final and most difficult obstacle to overcome, before he meets his true goal: the joy of battle.

[ThunderPeel2001]

I appreciate the mention of FF, but I still think it looks damned good. There's only one real super-natural thing in it, and that's the floaty dude, everything else is technology based (and not much different than the other games).

I know it feels a little different, but things have to keep moving forward and I'm glad it looks a little different rather than the same as ever. The video looked good to me!

[toblix]

I'm sadder than ever that MGS3 is only good for me to poop on.

[vimes]

To me, who is totally ignorant of other MGS, it looks like a gigantic mess, with realism and credibility completely out the window.

Even more so, the gameplay sequences seem stuck between large thick layers of demented cutscenes, and in what was presented it also seemed full of bad-good gameplay ideas (the magazines, the pucking, the body search, the fuck-the-floor stealth move) and an atrocious AI.

Despite all that, I find it to be a likeable mess, mainly because it doesn't look jaded or cynical at all.

[Thrik]

Hee. :~

A good thing that came out of the latest video is that Kojima confirmed the AI in the gameplay demo(s) shown is set to 'easy' to limit the chances of Snake getting bummed in the gob during demonstration.

Since the MGS games have all had good AI in the past and in fact got soul numbingly difficult when set to 'hard' (their sight and hearing essentially becomes as good as you'd expect from a real person), it'd have been insanity for it to degrade in MGS4.

I fondly remember spending about three hours trying to get past one room in MGS1 set to 'hard', almost in tears; man was it satisfying when I eventually got a perfect run and swiftly and stylishly took out every fucker in there in a systematic fashion though. Kind of like a 3D version of the Commandos games, in that I spent ages studying their movements.

Of course if you don't like that kind of thing, MGS in hard mode is quite possibly the worst thing in history.

[miffy495]

Man, that video looks fucking amazing. Sorry, but I'm a die-hard MGS fan and that impressed me. So I see a Raven, Octopus, Wolf, and Mantis, but does anyone know if they have the same names as the FOXHOUND crew? Are they the same animal with a different word tacked on? It would be pretty badass to fight Vulcan Raven, Decoy Octopus, Sniper Wolf, and Psycho Mantis again, but that wolf didn't exactly look sniper-ish and I'm curious to know the names for them now.

[Oath]

No, they don't have the exact names from MGS1. Laughing Octopus, Crying Wolf, Screaming Mantis and Raging Raven is what they're called now.

[Thrik]

Excellent. Same animals with a different word tacked on, then.

I am presuming it isn't just a nod to the older fans and there is actual meaning in the storyline for these psychotic robot-like things being named after FOXHOUND members. Looking forward to the story.

Only complication now is needing to get a PS3, which in turn needs a decent HDTV to be optimally enjoyed.

[Thrik]

For those who have an ounce of taste actually liked the video, a direct feed HD version is available now:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/23998.html

[Oath]

It looks really good, but some of it sounds... not so good. The wolf howl for example, is so incredibly familiar that it bothers me deeply, hearing it. They'll have to spruce the sample up a bit or find a new one before release.

Not really digging the wolf much at all to be honest, though it has the best name. It just comes across as slightly off, but the rest of the gang seems ok. I especially like how when the soldier gets "taken over" by Mantis and is left hanging, something resembling puppet strings appears to be holding him up.